1. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to conduits, raceways and similar devices for routing signalling or transmission apparatus such as cables, tubing and wires (including those composed of either metal or optical fiber) between locations. More particularly it relates to such devices which must be used for signalling or transmission in a highly secure environment.
2. Background Information
In many industries, research facilities and governmental and military facilities there is a need for secure routing of signaling and transmission means such as computer, power, communication and similar cables and wires and fluid conveyance tubing, e.g., gas and liquid pneumatic and hydraulic lines. (For brevity herein such signalling and transmission means will often be exemplified as and referred to collectively as “cable”, “cables” or “cabling” unless the context indicates otherwise or specific types of such means are mentioned. It will be recognized, however, that such collective terminology is used for convenience only and is not intended to be limiting.) Further, the terms “conduit” and “conduit system” may be considered synonymous unless the context indicates otherwise.) Unauthorized access to such cables must be prevented or at least made extremely difficult while yet easy to detect. Conduits for routing of such cables must be protected from intrusion by penetration or removal of access covers or sections of conduit, and also must provide a suitable degree of physical protection for the transmission devices within the conduit from environmental hazards, weather and climate excesses and accident or attack. However, such protection must not be so cumbersome that authorized access for removal, repair or insertion of the cables within the conduit is made excessively difficult.
Typical uses for the present secure conduit invention will be for computer networks, communication systems, equipment control systems, remote sensing systems and the like. Specific principal uses which may be illustrated as examples are as conduits for telecommunications cables, computer cables, power transmission cables (especially for power to critical operational equipment or facilities) and environmental gas sampler tubing or piping. Users may be companies, research organizations, military units and governmental organizations and agencies. Facilities where secure conduits are desirable include office and laboratory buildings; military camps and bases; ships, dockyards or other marine facilities; airports; prisons; chemical plants and petroleum refineries; factories; banks, exchanges and other financial institutions; and power, gas and water utilities.
In the past, there have been numerous cable and other routing systems, such as those used to route computer, electric power and communications cables and wires to and within offices, especially within a building. A particularly successful example of such a system is that described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,211, owned by the assignee of the present invention and patent application, Holocom Networks of Carlsbad, Calif., and commercially available under the trademark TOPRUNNER®. A principal limitation of such systems, however, is that they are not secure from intrusion and cannot be made secure without extensive modification. Such modification is impractical in most cases, since the intent of their designers and their users has been to have them readily accessible to facilitate frequent reconfiguration. Therefore while such non-secure systems do provide functions similar to those of the system of the present invention, i.e., routing of cables, their physical structures and security capabilities are entirely different.
It would therefore be of significant value to have a secure conduit system which would provide security against unauthorized access to cables routed through the system, while at the same time permitting simple and easy access to those cables within the system to authorized persons.